Permission is being sought to install new equipment on the roof of the telephone exchange in New Street to support the 5G mobile network rollout.

A planning application to Tendring District Council, submitted on behalf of Vodafone and Telefonica, says that the installation of new equipment – including a new mast that would top out at over 16m from the ground – would see some old hardware removed from the roof. The work will also see redundant equipment cabinets on the ground, damaged in an arson attack last year, removed and new ones installed on a rooftop platform.

The application says the new mast has to be higher to maintain a “public exclusion zone” because 5G operates at a higher power than 3 and 4G.